Perception and Interest of Youth in Agricultural Sector Work, Sidoarjo District, Sidoarjo Regency
Agriculture plays an important role in the economy and development of Indonesia, one of the sectors that was able to survive the Covid 19 pandemic. however, there is a potential loss of the farmer profession in Indonesia, because the youth are not interested in the profession as farmers and prefer other sector jobs. In Sidoarjo Regency, the population working in the agricultural sector is very small compared to other sectors. Meanwhile, the labor structure of farmers is dominated by the elderly population. Based on this, research on rural youth's perception of agricultural sector work needs to be carried out. This study aims to describe the perception of youth towards agricultural sector work, factors that influence perception, describe youth interest in agricultural sector work and factors that influence youth interest in agricultural sector work. This research uses a descriptive research method with a quantitative approach. Data were obtained through observation, interviews with questionnaire guides and literature studies. The research location in Sidoarjo District, Sidoarjo Regency, from July to September 2022, the sample used was 100 respondents. The analysis in this study used frequency tabulation and structural equation modeling (SEM-PLS) using the Warp PLS program. The results showed that 1) the perception of youth towards agricultural sector work is in the category of poor with details: perception of work comfort in the category of very uncomfortable, perception of income in the category of less favorable, perception of social status of work in the less prestigious category, 2) youth interest in agricultural sector work is classified as moderate, 3) Age and family background have a negative and significant effect on Perceptions of youth, socialization of employment, influence of parents and access to information have a significant positive effect on the perception of youth, socioeconomic status has no significant effect on the perception of youth towards agricultural sector work, 4) perception has a positive and significant effect on youth interest in agricultural sector work.